<p>I want to book my flight for the Family Weekend in September. I need to have an idea of the program of events for the weekend from parents who have experienced it so that I can know when to arrive and depart Nashville.</p>
<p>@simplythankful - there is a lot of info on Family Weekend on this thread: <a href=“Current students or parents - questions - #196 by Pancaked - Vanderbilt University - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/vanderbilt-university/1604986-current-students-or-parents-questions-p14.html</a></p>
<p>simplythankful</p>
<p>I thought it would be easy to find the schedule of events for past years but I couldn’t.</p>
<p>From what I remember last year there are events beginning around noon on the Friday of the weekend. Things like meetings with the Deans of each college, tours of the grounds, tours of Nashville. </p>
<p>Last year they did add an event on Thursday night but I think it was an event that was already scheduled for the university and they just put it on the parent weekend schedule. It was a part of the “Great Performance” series, a musical group from Taipei, Taiwan. I don’t think this was really an official part of the parent/family weekend.</p>
<p>Friday from 4:30 to 7 there is a picnic and music stage in the Commons area. The music is provided by Vanderbilt students and is more like a talent show. I think any student who wants to perform can sign up, thus there is a wide range of performances. </p>
<p>Friday evening is the Athenian Sing. This show was started by Dinah Shore back in the late 30’s to showcase the singing groups on campus. It now includes other genres like dance and comedy. It is held in the 1,100-seat Langford Auditorium and it is really good. There may be other events that night that coincide with the Athenian Sing. I think there was a women’s soccer game last year.</p>
<p>Saturday kind of revolves around the football game. I think this year they play UMass and it depends on what time kickoff is as to how it affects the rest of the day. There is a great “tailgate” picnic for all the parent weekend participants. </p>
<p>Sunday there is a breakfast and I think most official events are done by noon.</p>
<p>I found that there is plenty to do yet enough flexibility that you can take your child off campus if they need to get something, go out to eat, or get a few hours rest at your hotel. Our son’s first year we took him to our hotel and let him take a nice long bath (it had been showers for a month) and then he got some needed sleep.</p>
<p>GoDoresx2, thank you very much for the detailed input and go2mom for the link. I could not find the prior years schedules anywhere online. It sure sounds like the weekend will be a lot fun. I cannot wait to meet Vandy Parents. If they are as nice in person as they are on CC, it should be quite a treat.</p>
<p>Submitted the health insurance waiver today, already approved. You simply enter your health insurance data on this site <a href=“Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk”>Gallagher Student Health and Special Risk; and it is reviewed to determine if it meets Vanderbilt’s following criteria for coverage:</p>
<p>Will allow you to see health care providers in the Nashville, TN area.
Will cover doctor visits, lab work and diagnostic services, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, ambulance services, mental health services and coverage for prescription drugs.
Doesn’t have copayments, deductibles and coinsurance that will result in high out-of-pocket expenses.
Will cover you for the entire policy period.</p>
<p>"The username and password you entered do not match those on file or your account or your login credential may not currently be loaded into our system. " </p>
<p>anybody else got this message when trying to do a Health Insurance Waiver ?</p>
<p>I have some concerns about the roommate situation. I was surprised that they asked so few questions on the survey. Essentially-what time do you go to bed and do you use your room to study or hang out with friends. Nothing was asked about other important personal habits. For example, they don’t ask if you are a smoker. The college states that as it is a smoke-free campus they do not ask that question. The other option of finding a roommate on the class of 2018 site or on room surf seems reasonable. I am just disappointed that Vanderbilt does not appear to make any real effort to match roommates. It seems they are relying on people figuring that out via word of mouth. (By the way–I may be misjudging them. This was just my first thought). Any suggestions from veterans here. My daughter seems content taking her chances. As a adolescent psychiatrist, however, having seen so many kids have their freshman years ruined with disastrous roommate situations, I wish it were otherwise. </p>
<p>few colleges ask more than those two or three questions, but your hopes and fears re roommate who could make sleeping/studying difficult is normal. Davidson College gives personality standardized exams and has a very high rate of repeat roommates after freshman year. I know Davidson pretty well, and have to add that I think a lot of self selection goes on before you ever get admitted to and matriculate to Davidson in the first place, so their outcomes are likely due to the level of courtesy and the values of the student body anyway. There really is no where to hide if you get a reputation for being a roommate ingrate/inconsiderate type in a small school. your daughter will likely have some issue or another with roommates or suitemates before her four years are over regardless of whether or not she is lucky in year one with a reasonable roommate. Here is a bright side: bad memories of my suitemate who ended up getting into Harvard Med typing on a manual typewriter all night all semester with the overhead light on-- untll there was a huge meltdown among her housemates. My freshman roommate finding out that I smoked in the hall and stairwells and my finding out her dad was the president of the American Lung Association. I digress and among the parents on this board we could probably all fill pages and pages on the subject of roommates. Thank you Lord for today’s laptops with dimmable screens and no more typewriters. We used to have turntables in our rooms with speakers blasting up and down the halls. Thank you for headphones and Ipods. BTW both of our sons asked for and received expensive Bose headphones freshman winter break. Don’t know if this is a Vandy girl phenom but they are really common in men’s dorms. (Pricey tho!) Rather than dwelling on the freshman roommate just focus on courtesy and not having high expectations for life long friendship out of that year. Sincerely hope all goes well! The dorms themselves are so high quality that Vandy parents are a little spoiled and don’t know it. Also, my son developed a four year attachment to his House Faculty member freshman year. The faculty and the RAs are there for all sorts of assists. </p>
<p>My son got a triple his first year - surprise! So two roommates. He is still rooming with one of them sophomore year and is friendly with the other. I have to conclude the limited compatibility questionnaire actually worked.</p>
<p>sadieshadow;</p>
<p>I actually think the Facebook group is a good springboard to finding a roommate. Our D was required to live with another athlete, so it limited her pool of people to choose from. Before that decision was made, however, several girls contacted her through the FB group, and she would really have enjoyed rooming with one of the girls. The girl was blind–had a seeing eye dog at school, and had needs for a roommate that was pretty neat and didn’t mind the dog. Our D ended up with the athlete roommate (which both girls lived together compatibly but were far from friends). But…imagine her delight when her first class had the blind girl and her dog in it! </p>
<p>The FB group should be the springboard, not the final decision. Asking questions about how much they plan to drink/party/date and policy on boys in the room, and those sorts of things are very important. Ironically, music, noise, etc don’t seem to be much of an issue–lots of headphones, watching TV on computers, etc eliminates a lot of that. </p>
<p>By my D and her roommate not “clicking” as friends, it actually pushed my D to make a lot of other friends from the hall, classes and the like. She is rooming next year with someone she ate dinner with every day. She has a huge group of friends that have nothing to do with her tiny dorm room. It works.</p>
<p>Current Vandy parents, just curious…what do you know about the sophomore housing in the new Kissam residential college? can the whole sophomore class get in there? Do sophomores still have the option of scattering into varied housing on campus? (our son went to a Mayfield Lodge sophomore year…ten singles, two baths, one kitchen.) Is the new Kissam all traditional doubles with a hall bath or are there varieties with suites etc? son spent a summer session in the (at last!) torn down, dank dark Kissam which started out as some kind of military housing. </p>
<p>Here is some info about the new housing:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.vanderbilt.edu/families/manage/files/Moore-and-Warren-for-parents.pdf”>http://www.vanderbilt.edu/families/manage/files/Moore-and-Warren-for-parents.pdf</a></p>
<p>Appears to be mostly singles, and is divided equally between the three upper classes.</p>
<p>Here it says that there will be 660 students living there:</p>
<p><a href=“Vanderbilt moves forward with College Halls | Vanderbilt University”>http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2011/05/vanderbilt-moves-forward-with-college-halls/</a></p>
<p>So about 15% of sophomores will live there.</p>
<p>SoCalDad is correct about the even split of class in the new College Halls.</p>
<p>This year there were no single rooms available for Sophomores beyond College Halls. Also, the houses / buildings areas most available to them were Alumni Lawn, Branscomb and Blakemore. There may have been a few in the other areas, but not many. I would not expect that to change in the next several years.</p>
<p>As far as roommates go, S went the random route and had a great year. After the first month, I don’t think the answers to all three questions were accurate anymore. I just don’t think that high school seniors really know how they are going to live one they get to college. Although S is not rooming with his freshman year roommate, he was on the same housing ballot as S and will be living across the hall with a different roommate.</p>
<p>It will all work out and housing leadership is there if a change needs to be made.</p>
<p>wow, that is interesting re the two new College Halls–thanks for the links SoCalDad. Is it implied that residents of each College stay in house all three years if possible (Like at the long term assignment Rice undergraduate colleges?)…just wondering. </p>
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<p>That is my impression, but someone who knows more about the subject may want to opine.</p>
<p>I’ve heard rumors these new dorms are set up to offer students a long term residential living option as at Rice, Notre Dame, etc… I’ve heard rumors they are set up to offer a social living/peer group option for non-Greeks, and rumors the long term plan is to decrease the Greek influence on campus and grow the residential college model. Again, just rumors this may not be true. The more options students have the better.
Has anyone heard of a university with a strong Greek community and strong residential housing communities? </p>
<p>Here is a nice summary with other more detailed links about Warren/Moore:
<a href=“Residential Colleges | Vanderbilt University”>http://www.vanderbilt.edu/collegehalls/</a></p>
<p>I’m not sure the College Halls will have that big of an influence on Greek Life since only the officers (approx. 5 students) live in the houses. The rest live in Vanderbilt housing. </p>
<p>@Pancaked correct me if I’m wrong.</p>
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<p>I believe I have read (somewhere on the Vandy website) that the long term plan is to move toward a residential college model. Given that Vandy Greek members do not live in their houses, Greek life may be more adaptable to a residential college model at Vandy than at many schools. To the extent that students come to identify with their residential colleges, and they have a lot of activities there, the Greek system may become less popular.</p>
<p>Just booked go2girl’s one-way ticket to Nashville! Very exciting! Also heard via another CC parent that Southwests Airlines has opened up reservations through 1/4/15–perfect for winter break reservations. </p>